16th- and 17th-Century Flemish Art

by

LAST REVIEWED: 25 April 2015

LAST MODIFIED: 27 March 2014

DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195399301-0168

Introduction

Seventeenth-century Flemish art is one of the highlights in Western art history. Although the term Flemish is anachronistic and, in fact, primarily refers to the Antwerp school of painting, it is commonly used to describe the Southern Netherlandish baroque art of Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony Van Dyck, Jacob Jordaens, and their contemporaries. It is considered the counterpart of the Northern Netherlandish (or Dutch) baroque art of, among others, Rembrandt and Vermeer. This division in Netherlandish art between Flemish, Counter-Reformation art, and Dutch reformed art—it is an artificial and unsatisfying distinction—is said to have originated in 1585, when, after the fall of Antwerp, the Netherlands were de facto divided into the Southern provinces and the Dutch Republic in the North. The Southern (or Spanish) Netherlands resided under the authority of the king of Spain. They were predominantly Catholic, whereas the Northern Netherlands were officially reformed. Flanders was but one province in the Southern Netherlands at the time, and the Brabantine city of Antwerp was the most important center of art production. This Antwerp-centered look and the domination of the all-pervading Rubens has resulted in a substantial lack of research on other Southern Netherlandish art centers, such as Brussels, Ghent, Bruges, Malines, and Liège and in a significant insufficiency of studies on sculpture, architecture, and the applied arts. However, research interests are changing rapidly, and these neglected areas now generate serious attention. Much scholarship on Flemish art is written in Dutch, French, or German.

General Overviews

The principal and, in fact, the only convenient overview on late-16th and early-17th-century Flemish art is Hans Vlieghe’s volume in the Pelican History of Art series (Vlieghe 1998a). Traditionally conceived, it offers a complete and well-balanced introduction to the Flemish baroque and excellent insights into its nature. The text consists of historical overviews of the different art forms, with a slight emphasis on painting. In addition to all other (partial) overviews of 17th-century Flemish art, of value is Hans Vlieghe’s landmark article (Vlieghe 1998b) on the nature of Flemish art, in which the cliché of a purely Counter-Reformation, absolutist art is downplayed, and the importance of the common artistic tradition in the Low Countries (until deep into the 17th century) is stressed. On baroque art in general, Martin 1977 is still the most significant reference. Instructive chapters on 17th-century Flemish art are to be found in other (art) historical overviews with broader scopes as well, such as Liebaers, et al. 1991 and DaCosta Kaufmann, et al. 2002. Good and more concise introductions to Flemish 17th-century art can also be found in some landmark exhibition catalogues, in particular Mai and Vlieghe 1993 and Sutton and Wieseman 1993. On women artists, Van der Stighelen, et al. 1999 is fundamental.